


The lonely man

by theKasiaLin



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M, Misunderstandings, Post episode 7 of season 4, angsty Harry, minor s04e07 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 09:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12814815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theKasiaLin/pseuds/theKasiaLin
Summary: Ever since Cisco learned that Harry is a fan of "Zatoichi. The blind swordsman" he wouldn't stop asking Wells to watch it with him. Finally, Harry reluctantly agrees. But was this a really good idea?





	The lonely man

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I already liked this ship very much, but then I binge-watched the episodes 6 and 7 of season 4 and this idea just popped into my head, and I simply HAD TO write it XD
> 
> Huge thanks to [missMHO](http://archiveofourown.org/users/missMHO) for the swift beta and help.  
> I'm not a native speaker so I'm sorry for any mistakes.

“Come on, Harry. Just watch it with me,” Cisco whined.

“I’ve already told you _no_ so many times, Ramon. The fact that we both like Zatoichi does not mean we have to  _ hang _ . When will you understand that and stop pestering me?” Harry asked.

“I’ll leave you alone when you agree to watch the movies with me. They are the best movies ever! You know it, I know it. I have the entire collection, but we can watch only the first one. The OG  _ Zatoichi _ It’s a perfect opportunity for some man-bonding time.”

Harry rubbed his temples. ‘Man-bonding’ with Cisco was the last thing he wanted. But if watching the movie would mean he would have Ramon out of his hair, at least for a little while, maybe it was worth it. He can always just focus on the movie and try to block Cisco’s presence out. He gave out a long-suffering sigh.

“Fine, I will watch it with you, then.”

“Really?!” Cisco seemed doubtful but Harry nodded solemnly. “Awesome! Your place or mine? I guess mine, since I have, you know, an actual couch and a TV and you’re living… here. Is the next Sunday okay? Do you have any prefered snacks? I was thinking chips, but I can make popcorn if you’d like…” Cisco blabbed excitedly as he made plans. Harry took a deep breath. He already regretted agreeing to this.

\---

“Okay, I’ve got meats, cheeses, guac, beer, chips, coke, and beer,” Cisco enumerated as soon as Harry hung his jacket and took off his shoes.

“Thank gods you have alcohol. I will need it to survive this evening. Although, I’d have prefered whiskey to those suds you’re calling a beer.”

“See, now… that stung me now, Harry. One would have thought you don’t really want to be here,” Cisco said and Harry glared at him. “... okay. Then let’s get the party going.” Cisco said and flopped onto the couch, extending his legs halfway through. Harry also sat on the couch, though as far from Cisco as possible, and immediately grabbed the Bud Light. 

During the movie, Cisco kept silent, which Harry greatly appreciated.  _ Zatoichi _ series was truly a masterpiece. Nonetheless, Harry was acutely aware of Cisco’s presence as the man changed his position every so often, slowly migrating towards Harry. By the end of the last movie they chose, Cisco was practically leaning on him. Harry expected him to get up as soon as the movie ended, but Cisco just closed his eyes and listened to the score as the credits rolled over. Only when the screen showed the menu again, Ramon moved away. He stretched his neck before turning to Harry.

“Man, that was so good! I feel like this every time after watching it. The fighting scenes are just so amazingly choreographed, and the story…. Oh man, the story!”

“Yes, it was spectacular, ” agreed Harry.

“Oh, now you’re glad that you came here tonight.”

Harry rolled his eyes.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought. I had a good time, yes,” he admitted.

“OH! That’s big. That’s almost like admitting that you like me! Maybe you would even want to watch the rest of them some other time?” Cisco grinned.

“Don’t push your luck, buttercup,” said Harry. 

The moments the words left his mouth, he realised what he said and cursed mentally. He said that stupid pet-name he used for Cisco in his mind again. He was starting to lose his self-control around the man lately. Which was why he should have removed himself from his vicinity. But no, here he was.

“You’ve called me that again,” Cisco pointed out.

“Called you what?” Harry decided to play dumb, hoping that Ramon would drop the topic. However, he had no such luck.

“Buttercup. You called me that at Barry’s bachelor party. And now again. What is the deal with that?”

“Pay no mind to it, Ramon.”

“How am I supposed to do that now that you told me that. It’s basically like telling the child not to eat the candy after giving them the candy. I’ll discover what is behind that. Do you have secret pseudonyms for everyone?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. If you are going to waste my time on that, then I… should leave.”

“What? No, no, no, no. Stay. We’re having good time, right? There’s still food and beer. I promise not to bring up the buttercup thing again.”

Harry hummed in consideration. He actually did enjoy himself. And if he was careful, staying a little while longer would not hurt anyone, right? He sat at the sofa more comfortably.

“So what will we be doing? Surely not just eating and looking at each other.”

“Oh, umm… I haven’t thought this out beyond the movie…”

“Why am I not surprised,” snickered Harry, raising one of his eyebrows.

“Okay, so how about we just talk? Get to know each other a little better. What we like, what we don’t like…”

“Ramon, I already know all that about you, you are very expressive.”

“Don’t be like that. You don’t know everything. And I... know very little about your life, so I’m curious. Hm... How about, was there anyone special after Jessie’s mom?”

“We are not talking about my love-life,” Harry cut shortly.

“Oh, touchy. I take that as a ‘kinda’,” Cisco responded, earning a glare for that. That did not deter Cisco from asking him another bunch of questions, most of which Harry deflected, or answered as scarcely as he could. Fortunately, soon they moved to the less personal topics, starting to discuss the differences between their Earths, like the prevalent religious beliefs or worldviews. They even arrived at sexuality.

“On my Earth we don’t have these labels like you do. You simply love who you love, and most people does not have a gender preference,” Harry explained.

“Oooh, so you’re a minority then.”

“A minority?” he repeated, not sure what Cisco meant.

“Yeah, with you being only into women.”

“I’ve never claimed such a thing in my life. I am what on your Earth you’d call a pansexual, if I understand the term correctly.”

“Oh wow… I did not expect that…”

“Because you’ve assumed something based on your own experience. Sorry to break your bubble, Ramon, but the world is full of individuals who differ from you.”

“I know that,” Cisco interrupted him. “And I didn't mean it like that. It’s just that... You’ve never expressed attraction to anyone other than your wife so I took that as an indication.”

“It is simply because I can control myself. Something you should consider exercising, too, instead of chasing every good looking piece of ass that is so nice as to talk to you.”

“Shut up, Harry.”

“Truth hurts, doesn't it Ramon?”

“You know nothing about me. I can more than control myself.”

“Yes, that is exactly why you’ve almost hooked up with a criminal which endangered your team. And now you’re dating a deadly assassin from another universe. You're so desperate you don't even take time to consider what you're getting yourself into. Like a little horny heterosexual boy.”

“I told you to shut up.” Cisco now looked angry but Harry was too much into proving his point to take notice of that.

“Or what?” He asked daringly.

Before he even had a chance to react, Cisco lunged towards him. Harry braced himself mentally for a blow but instead there was a mouth on his and he was kissed like there was no tomorrow (which, considering their lives, was not impossible). The kiss was overwhelming. It made Harry feel alive in a way he didn't for a long time. One of his hands traveled up, entangling itself into Cisco’s soft hair as Harry reciprocated the kiss. And all thoughts disappeared from his mind.

When they separated they were both breathing heavily. Cisco’s lips were red and swollen and Harry felt a need to suck on them again. 

Suddenly a phone rang, breaking Harry away from this trance. He stood up rapidly from the couch. He spat out: “I should get going,” before he put on his coat and shoes and he was out of the door in a record time.

It did not escape his attention that Cisco did not move or even say anything to stop him from going.

\---

This should not have happened, Harry decided. But since it already did, he had to take all the precautions not to repeat the situation. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t want it. He… had feelings for Cisco for some time now. And now when he had a taste, he only longed for it more. But he couldn’t ask of Cisco to become his partner. He couldn’t ask Cisco to bear with him, with all that emotional baggage and (he had to admit) the not easy character. Ramon was young, he had a life, dreams, a bright future. And most importantly, he already had a partner - an amazing young woman, who equalled him in his abilities. There was simply no way Cisco would sacrifice all that to be with him, an old, ordinary (despite his intellect) man who was a pariah not just on one, but on two Earths now. Yes, stepping away and keeping the distance was definitely the best choice for both their sakes. 

Harry did everything he could to keep their contacts at the bare minimum.He would talk to Cisco only when the situation required it and only about team-related matters, such as DeVoe or the rogue metas. He would also limit the time he spent in the cortex and work on his own projects in his room instead. Cisco, however, seemed not to get a clue and would follow him, try to chat him up, and invite him to spend time together again. The declining was getting really tiresome, but it was for the best.

After another finished action, Harry took his time to gather his things. He expected everyone to leave S.T.A.R. Labs fairly soon as it was the weekend. But when he looked up from the console, he noticed Cisco standing right in front of him, with his arms crossed.

“Why are you avoiding me, Harry?” he asked.

“I am not avoiding you,” Harry said, walking around the console table. He passed Cisco on his way to the door.

“Yes, you are. Don’t you think we should at least talk?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Harry said as he left the cortex bridge, letting the door slide shut behind him.

\---

An alarm sounded around the S.T.A.R. Labs.  _ Breachers. _ Harry immediately pulled off from the table where he worked on the new Vibe glasses prototype, grabbed the gun he always kept nearby, and run to the basement.

But when he got there, the breach was closed and there was no sign of anyone having come to this Earth.

The door shut behind him and Harry turned with his gun ready to shot, but he dropped it when he noticed Cisco.

“What are you doing, Ramon?” he asked.

“Confronting you. You’ve been avoiding me ever since that night. So I had to get you somewhere where you could not escape from me.”

“I’ve… I’m not avoiding you, Cisco.”

“Yeah? You never talk to me anymore and you practically run to your room and shut yourself in it whenever you’re not helping us at the cortex. What do you call that if not avoiding?”

“I’ve been setting boundaries… Listen, what happened that night, should not have taken place. So I’ve been taking precautions not to repeat it.”

“Taking precautions? What? I… I know that you are not into me and I shouldn’t have kissed you, but you could have just told me that and I’d never make pass on you again.”

Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose. Cisco was greatly misunderstanding this. Maybe he should just come clean.

“It’s not that I’m not  _ into you _ , Cisco. It is the exact opposite. That is why I should stay clean. Because if I won’t… I might lose control, okay? I want you for myself, to be with me. But I don’t want to use you when you’re confused…”

“I’m not… I’m not confused, Harry. I’m bi!” Cisco interrupted him, but Harry hasn’t finished talking yet.

“Besides, don’t you have a girlfriend already? I know you are not seeing each other very often, but things seemed to be getting well. You should not waste that. Not on some old, ordinary man like me.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend anymore…” Cisco said quietly.

“What? What happened? Don’t tell me, you…”

“No! No, nothing like that. It’s just… remember the run-in with her father? Well, she said it made her think, and I was impressive and great, but in the end she realised that it… that I was not what she wanted.”

“Oh… I’m… sorry to hear that. But then, you should not look for comfort in someone like me, Cisco. I’m not a good choice for a rebound.”

“Oh my god, Harry. Can you stop that? I didn’t want you to be my rebound. The kiss just happened, okay? Jesus, I didn’t plan it that way. I just wanted to get to know you better and spend time as friends. Like, I was certain, I have no chance with you back then! I thought being friends was all I could get. And then you told me you weren’t straight. And then you just wouldn’t shut your mouth so I had to shut you. It was an instinct!”

“What are you saying, Cisco?”

Cisco closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I have a crush on you, the biggest crush I’ve ever had. I don’t know when it started. I’ve always admired our Doctor Wells. I thought he was hot, but he was also… cold. Now we know why. And then you’ve appeared, and you were so similar, but so different. And, okay, we had a rough start, but I couldn’t stop myself from developing this crush and now here we are, because, as you said, clearly, I cannot control myself.”

Harry found himself speechless for the first time in a really long while. 

Cisco, this bright, young man with amazing perspectives in front of him;the man towards whom he was attracted for years but kept denying himself to act on it; this man wanted him. Wanted to be with him.

He made a tentative step towards Cisco, and looked into the glistening eyes. 

“Are you sure, Cisco? Because I come with a lot of baggage. And I’m also just a normal human. I will never be able to keep up with your meta abilities.”

Cisco answered with a steady gaze.

“Harry, I know what I want, and I know what I’m getting myself into. You are the most brilliant man that I’ve ever known. How could I not want that?” he asked and took a step towards Harry. 

He reached out his hand and touched Harry’s cheek, as if he was asking this time if he can kiss Harry. And Harry was more than willing to oblige. He embraced Cisco and leaned it for the kiss. Their lips brushed, tentatively at first until they went for each other with full force, sucking, occasionally biting. A moan escaped Cisco’s lips when Harry tugged slightly at his hair. They were making out like horny teenagers, and Harry found he didn’t mind that because it felt right; it felt perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> In case you weren't such a movie-buffs as Cisco and Harry or didn't live in the US (or Japan) and thus were not acquainted with "Zatoichi", here's the exact box-set that was mentioned in the episode: <https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/1012-zatoichi-the-blind-swordsman>


End file.
